The Lioness Warrior
by Rainstar of ShadowClan
Summary: *Old* A story about a lioness who becomes a warrior. This is my first story so I hope you enjoy it.
1. Prologue

**WARNING: The story you are about to read is old. I can do much better now. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors. **

**This is my first story, so please don't expect too much. Thanks!**

Allegiances

ThunderClan

Leader: Eaglestar- a brown she-cat with a white muzzle and yellow eyes

Deputy: Dewmist- a white she-cat with brown speckles and green eyes

Medicine Cat: Redfur- a reddish brown tom with yellow eyes

Queens: Swanflight- a longhaired white she-cat with blue eyes

Flowerblossom – a green-eyed calico (a mix of white, black, and orange)

Warriors:

Blackfox- a red-eyed black tom with a reddish brown muzzle and tail Apprentice: Hailpaw

Shellfur- a green-eyed sand-colored she-cat with a white belly and paws

Tigerlily- a tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes

Berryseed- a longhaired gray tom with white paws and green eyes Apprentice: Tulip-paw

Silverboulder- a gray tom with white paws and orange eyes

Apprentice: Salmonpaw

Thornheart- a dark brown tom with yellow eyes.

Owleye- a longhaired, ginger, sharp-eyed she-cat with orange eyes

Apprentice: Puddlepaw

Stripetail- a silver tabby tom with yellow eyes

Apprentices:

Hailpaw- a Russian blue she-cat (bluish gray) with blue eyes

Tulip-paw- a light brown she-cat with green eyes

Salmonpaw- a grayish white tom with orange eyes

Puddlepaw- a silver she-cat with white paws and sky blue eyes

Elders:

Scratchnose- a yellow-eyed brown she-cat with a ginger belly and paws

Bramblelegs- a Bombay tom (black) with yellow eyes

Prologue

Cold, frigid wind soared through the forest, announcing that leaf bare was soon to come. A patch of sand-colored fur flashed between two tall trees. A blue jay was perched on a branch, watching with amusement as a she-cat leaped out from nearby and desperately attempted to climb the huge tree. She continued to try to reach the bird, but was constantly tumbling back down. She eventually gave up, and started to leave, throwing a glance over her shoulder. The blue jay puffed out its chest and squawked, telling the other few birds in the forest about this defeated cat. It was victorious.

The cat tumbled through the forest, tripping over roots and vines. Her emerald green eyes were clouded in frustration. The defeated feline made its way to a small stream where she began to lap silently at the cold, yet refreshing water. The water tickled her chin gently, and she shook her head. Just then the green, calm gaze of the cat rested on a large lump of golden fur under a fern on the other side of the stream. The pelt slowly rose and fell, hinting that it was still alive. The cat slowly crossed the stream, picking up her paws every once and while to the shake the water off them. Finally she reached the opposite side and inspected the lump of fur. She gasped and drew back, barely believing what was right in front of her. The cat nosed the creature and turned it onto its back. Beautiful blue eyes stared into curious green eyes. It could only be one animal…

A lion.


	2. A New Member

"Eaglestar! Eaglestar!" yowled the injured cat as it burst into camp, sending fallen leaves flying. It gently placed the bundle of fur it was carrying at its paws, panting from the effort.

A scrawny brown cat slipped out from behind a huge rock formation. "Calm down, Shellfur," the brown cat meowed smoothly. "And what's that at your feet?

"It's, well…" stammered Shellfur.

"Yes? What is it? Don't be afraid to tell me," soothed the brown cat.

"Can we talk about this in private, Eaglestar?" inquired Shellfur.

Cats were streaming out of their dens and starting to form a crowd around them. Whispers were being carried to their pricked ears.

"Very well," Eaglestar agreed. She turned to her Clan. "ThunderClan, please continue what you were doing!"

Shellfur gripped the lion's scruff and followed Eaglestar as she led the way to her den, the rock formation.

"Now…where were we…ah, yes. Please tell me what that is," Eaglestar nodded towards the golden fur in Shellfur's jaws.

Shellfur laid it at her paws again and blurted out, "It's a lion!"

"What?" cried a very bewildered Eaglestar. "That's impossible!"

"Well then how did I find one?" asked Shellfur dumbly.

"Where did you find it?" Eaglestar didn't seem to notice Shellfur's question. "I hope you didn't leave the territory…"

"Of course not!" exclaimed Shellfur. I found it by the stream."

"The stream? That close to the border? We can't risk having another battle with ShadowClan." Eaglestar sighed. "If we lose again then ThunderClan will be lost forever…" A large tear started to roll down her cheek.

"Don't worry, Eaglestar!" Shellfur meowed, hoping to make her feel better. "They didn't see me. Besides, I was on our territory."

"That's what happened last time! A patrol simply set a paw on the line and was attacked and then we were insulted at the Gathering, which made us look weak. We can't bear another fight…oh, what are we going to do?" Eaglestar collapsed into Shellfur, weeping.

"It's okay. It's alright now." Shellfur felt awkward trying to comfort her leader. She had never been good at making cats feel better.

"Mew!" squeaked the lion cub.

Both cats instantly turned to stare at the once again forgotten cub.

"We have to name it," Shellfur meowed randomly.

"You mean we're keeping it?" asked Eaglestar.

Shellfur blinked. "You're the leader here. It's your decision."

"Oh, right…" Eaglestar stood up and shook herself. " Hmm… We'll keep it for now. If something happens because of this cub, it's back to the wild."

"Thank you!" shrieked Shellfur. "Yay! Now what should we call it?"

They inspected the golden lion cub. It was sitting with its paws tucked under it, eyes closed in a patch of sunlight.

"From this moment on, it shall be known as Raykit," announced Eaglestar. "Now, hand it over to Swanflight. She only has one kit, so she can take it in the family and feed it."

"Okay," Shellfur meowed and nudged Raykit out into the sunny camp.


	3. The Word Comes Out

**Okay, I finished another chapter. Enjoy!**

As Shellfur encouraged Raykit to go to the nursery with gentle nudging, many cats stopped what they were doing to stare at her as she padded by. Several confused looks were passed her way. She ignored them and made her way into the nursery.

"Yes? Shellfur, is that you?" asked Flowerblossom as she entered, stepping over mewing kits.

"Yeah, it's me," replied Shellfur. "I have something for Swanflight."

"What is it, my dear?" Swanflight meowed softly. She was lying next to Flowerblossom with a tiny gray kit lying in between her forepaws.

"Well, whether you believe it or not, I actually found a lion cub by the stream. So Eaglestar-"

"You what?" Swanflight was clearly shocked by this unlikely find.

"Eaglestar told me that you should nurse it, since you only have one kit."

"A lion? Are you serious? How is that possible?" Swanflight exclaimed.

"I don't know," muttered Shellfur.

"In case you don't already know, lions are part of us. We evolved from them as well as tigers, cheetahs, and leopards, too." A cub of LionClan…it must be a sign from StarClan!" cried Swanflight.

"Well…that's possible," Shellfur shifted her paws. "Anyway, please take this cub and nurse it. You can call it Raykit." She beckoned to Raykit, urging her to step forward.

"Why, of course!" Swanflight accepted the cub gratefully. "And enough of this "it" talk. It's important to call an animal a "him" or "her", especially a young one." Swanflight gazed into the blue eyes of Raykit, who squealed, feeling uncomfortable with Swanfly's muzzle so close.

"It's a female!" exclaimed Swanflight. "How delightful!" She laid down providing her new kit some milk. Pebblekit, her other kit, came forward and started sucking first. Raykit soon got the idea and squeezed next to Pebblekit and drank greedily.

"It looks like Raykit's going to be okay now," observed Swanflight. She started to leave, being careful not to step on Flowerblossom's roaming kits.

As soon as she got out, her paws took her to the fresh kill pile. She suddenly realized how hungry she was. Tigerlily came up from behind her. "What's going on here?" she inquired. "What is with that kit you were carrying earlier?"

Just like that, Shellfur was surrounded by her questioning Clanmates. "One at a time please!" begged Shellfur, but nobody listened. All the questions become deafening blurs. She couldn't stand it. She screeched harshly out of frustration.

"What's all the commotion?" It became dead silent. All that could be heard was the quiet rustling of dead leaves being carried by the wind. Every cat turned to see Eaglestar standing in front of her den looking annoyed.

"I'm so sorry Eaglestar," Shellfur apologized. "It's just that I was being probed with questions and it just too much for me."

"Enough," ordered Eaglestar. "I shall explain." She leaped onto Highrock gracefully. "I understand how this might confuse you all. Now, this is what happened. I was relaxing in my den when Shellfur came bursting in, carrying a lump of golden fur. She told me that it was actually a lion and that she found it by the stream. In the darkest days of ThunderClan, even though we lost to ShadowClan and our strength has left us, StarClan took pity in us. We have been blessed with our very own lion cub! Think about it. Lion are one of the ancient Clans that we came from. LionClan!"

Shellfur sighed quietly. She didn't need to hear this whole LionClan thing again…

Eaglestar continued, "We must make use of this gift and use it to show the other Clans how powerful we are! Please treat Raykit with much respect. For ThunderClan! Meeting adjourned." She hopped of Highrock and ordered Dewmist to organize the patrols.

Chatter exploded in the small clearing once again. This time, however it wasn't focused on Shellfur. It was all about Raykit and how unlikely it is to stumble upon a lion in a forest.

"For the evening patrol I need Blackfox, Hailpaw, and Thornheart, with Tigerlilly leading," began Dewmist. " And going on the hunting patrol are Berryseed, Tulipaw, and Shellfur. Stripetail, you will be leading that patrol. Now go!"

Shellfur, Berryseed, and Tulipaw followed Stripetail out the entrance of the camp. They traveled deeper into the forest. Just as Stripetail told them to hunt individually so they could have a better chance of catching prey, Shellfur remembered how hungry she was. There was no way she would break the warrior code to have bite to eat, so she would have to wait. Her stomach growled. _I'd better go get started_, she told herself and began to creep through the forest in search of prey.


	4. Littermate

**New chapter! New adventure! New point of view! See through Raykit's eyes! ^^**

As soon as she was able, she began to suck the familiar, warm liquid. A paw prodded her side and she squeaked. She wasn't used to having littermates. In fact, she didn't remember having any at all. What happened? Why was she here? Why was the warm liquid the only thing she could recall? Ignoring the questions swarming in her small mind, she continued to drink and the paw continued to prod. Finally, she reacted when she was done sucking and prodded the paw back. It jerked and a tiny squeak was made from the kit attached to the paw.

Enjoying the reaction, she continued to prod the paw, the paw kept jerking, and the kit continued to squeak.

"Stop it, you two," came a loud, but gentle voice. "Now, Mommy has to go. Our leader has summoned a meeting. Please behave, understand?"

Raykit barely understood half of what the voice told her, but before she could respond, the belly she been sucking on had left, and the warm feeling left the room.

Raykit immediately reached out to poke the paw again, but it wasn't there. She mewed and sniffed around, but couldn't find it. She gave up quickly and sat on the moss bed mewing her golden head off. Just then a small figure leaped onto her back. She simply shrugged it off and turned to see her attacker. She faced her littermate, who was looking quite bewildered that she was strong already. Raykit flashed Pebblekit a toothy grin and pounced on her, knocking her over. She pressed down her struggling littermate and continued to prod her paws, finding that it was very enjoyable.

A large shadow loomed over her, and she instinctively let Pebblekit get up. She whirled around to see that the warm belly was back. She mewed, suddenly hungry again.

"Now, now, Raykit. I don't wanting you bullying Pebblekit anymore. How would you like it if you were being pushed over?" asked the same voice. A giant muzzle the size of her head descended upon her and nuzzled her, and then Pebblekit. "Be nice," the voice ordered.

The belly was open for her again, and she dashed for it. As she drank, Pebblekit nervously approached and began to suck as well, her paw just a tail length from Raykit's face. She tried her best to ignore the temptation to prod the paw again, but couldn't help doing a tiny poke. This time the paw didn't jerk, but her littermate sure did squeak. In fact, the kit screeched. The belly immediately disappeared and the shadow came upon her once again. "Raykit," roared the voice. "I'm very disappointed in you. I told you not to bully Pebblekit, and yet you hit her so hard, she screeched in pain. You've really been a handful, you know."

Raykit turned her head away from the angry voice. If she knew how to say it, she would have explained that she simply poked her littermate. She didn't really hurt Pebblekit. But she didn't, and now she would have to face the consequences.

"Follow me, Raykit. I'm going to put some distance between you two. I will not let you hurt my kit anymore," the voice boomed.

Raykit did as the voice instructed and followed it out into the clearing. The sun nearly blinded her, and she squinted her eyes. The very short journey seemed to take forever to her. When the paws ahead of her finally stopped, so did she. Jaws gripped the back of her neck, and the cat holding her leaped over something and set her down.

She had been dropped between the warrior's den, and the apprentice's den, and thick brambles in all directions surrounded her. Over the brambles was the forest, but she couldn't tell because the brambles were about as tall as her. All she could see was the tiny clearing she had been dropped in.

Raykit mewed pathetically as the figure leaped back over and disappeared from view.

What was she supposed to do here? She hadn't even finished drinking. She padded closer to the wall of brambles. A wave of determination passed through her. There was only one way out of this, and it was right in front of her, beckoning.


	5. Thornheart

"I caught more mice than you!"

"Yeah right, I caught three!"

"Oh yeah? I caught five!"

"No fair! You cheated!"

"Did not!"

"Did to!"

"Stop it you two!" ordered Stripetail. He flicked his tail in annoyance. "It doesn't matter who caught more, it just matters that you're feeding the Clan."

Shellfur sighed. She had just gotten back from the hunting patrol, and Blackfox, a newly appointed warrior along with her, was bragging with his apprentice AGAIN. She hated it whenever a warrior acted like a kit again. Speaking of kits, she thought. What about Raykit? How was she doing?

She knew she couldn't check on her just yet, she had some eating to do.

Shellfur made her way to the fresh kill pile and picked out a nice, plumb thrush. She smacked her lips and gobbled it down in three bites. Delicious!

She decided that she would check on Raykit next. She headed into the nursery to find that it was empty. Slightly worried, she padded back out to the clearing. Gazing around, she finally found them. Swanflight and Flowerblossom were chilling under the shade of a giant oak tree with their kits scurrying around near them. Shellfur let out a sigh of relief and walked towards them. Just then she noticed that Thornheart had bumped into Pebblekit and was saying something to her. When she got closer, she could see the rage displayed in his face and that he was snarling and threatening her. Thornheart had a bad reputation with ThunderClan because he always seemed to absolutely despise young cats, especially kits. Everyone was surprised that Eaglestar hadn't kicked him out for good. Although he was a powerful fighter, he still hurt kits. He wasn't evil or ambitious, or anything. He just had a really low patience level, and, as you could put it, often exploded with temper.

_Why isn't Swanflight doing anything?_ She wondered. Then she realized that she couldn't see the two queens from where she was because of Eaglestar's den, which happened to be in the middle of the camp. If she couldn't see them, then most likely couldn't see Thornheart. Of course, he had to pick a spot where he couldn't be seen. She was going to have to go over there and teach him a lesson herself then.

She stomped over to Thornheart and stuck an unsheathed claw in his face. "Drop it, Thornheart," she snapped. "That kit never did anything to you, so let her be, and go stick your head in a hole somewhere instead of terrorizing kits."

Thornheart pushed on her claw and snapped off a chunk, "Get a life, will you?"

Shellfur screeched in pain and glared at him, "Do you mind?" Hello! We're in the same Clan here. Life lesson number one: don't hurt your own Clanmates!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" sneered Thornheart. "Why not you go cry to the medicine cat?"

Pebblekit attempted to make a dash for it, but Thornheart stuck out a foot and tripped her. "Oops! Were you going somewhere?"

"Leave her alone! This between you and me!" growled Shellfur.

An ugly grin stretched across Thornheart's black face. "Would you like to lose all your claws first? Or would you rather…" In a single movement, he slammed his paw onto Pebblekit with his claws unsheathed. "Watch me become the first cat to toss a kit from the camp to the forest?"

Pebblekit squirmed pathetically and squeaked, trying to escape.

"You wouldn't dare!" cried Shellfur. "Even if you did, I'd go tell Eaglestar and you can say goodbye to Clan life forever!"

Thornheart's grin didn't disappear. "Do you seriously think that I would be that stupid?" He tightened his grip and Pebblekit's tiny face turned white. She managed a tiny squeak of protest. "If you go and tattletale, you can say goodbye to your little friend here. I'd be glad to end the life of this tiny, annoying little brat."

"You were once a tiny, annoying little brat yourself!" Shellfur spat.

For a second, Thornheart froze. Then he shook himself and snapped back, "Do you want this kit dead or not? 'Cause to me it seems like you're just begging me to slay her."

Pebblekit started to cry. Teardrops started pouring down her face like a rainstorm.

"If you kill her, then I'll have proof and…" Shellfur realized that the only way to prove it was to allow Thornheart to kill this helpless kit. It wasn't worth it. She would have to go along with him and keep quiet, for now.

"Fine, I won't say anything. I promise," she muttered.

"Do you promise to StarClan?" he inquired, still smiling. He was obviously enjoying this.

"I promise to…to…StarClan," she hated having to say the last part. _It had to be done_, she told herself.

Thornheart's grin grew even bigger. "Good. I'm glad we're clear about that. If you feel like lying to StarClan and being a loudmouth and you tell about this, then before anything else happens, you can wave a kiss goodbye to every ThunderClan kit. Including the lion. Now, carry on." And with that Thornheart released his grip on poor Pebblekit and headed for the warriors' den.

Shellfur glared at him until he disappeared inside. Then she snapped into action and gently grabbed Pebblekit by her scruff. She brought her to where Flowerblossom's kits were playing and placed her down. She nuzzled her and whispered in her ear, "Stay with the others, okay?" before letting her go.

Shellfur sat down in the shade not far from the queens and inspected her broken claw. It was tattered and bleeding. She groaned. She didn't need any more pain after that terrible battle. The medicine cat was going to have to help her with this. Just then she realized something. Raykit hadn't been with the others!

Forgetting about her claw, she raced over to Swanflight to find out what was going on.


	6. A Mistaken Loss

**Another chapter, yay!**

Shellfur reached Swanflight and immediately asked the question that was blowing her mind.

"Where's Raykit?" she inquired tensely.

"Calm down. She was bullying and hurting Pebblekit, so I had to put her away for now," replied Swanflight.

_Not as bad as Thornheart did, I'm sure,_ she thought.

"I'm sure she was just rough housing," claimed Shellfur. "Now can you show me where you put her?"

"Oh all right," Swanflight agreed. "Flowerblossom, watch the kits, will you?"

"Sure," Flowerblossom meowed.

"Okay, come with me," Swanflight beckoned towards Shellfur as she slowly got up and then started to pad across the clearing. When they got there, Swanflight told her to leap over a high wall of brambles.

"Oh my!" cried Swanflight. "Where'd she go?" The tiny area surrounded by brambles was deserted.

Shellfur gasped. "You mean this is where you left Raykit? And she's…not here?"

Swanflight managed a tiny nod. She looked incredibly bewildered and upset. "Oh StarClan, what did I do?"

"Maybe another warrior saw her and brought her back to the nursery, although I did check it recently and it was empty," suggested Shellfur.

"Well it's still possible, let's go check," urged Swanflight.

So they went over to the nursery and inspected it. Empty. Swanflight burst into tears. 'We'll never find her and it's all my fault!"

"We mustn't give up!" exclaimed Shellfur. "We're not the only ones here. We can tell Eaglestar and then she'll tell the whole Clan and have them help us. Come on!"

She ended up half dragging, half guiding the old queen to Eaglestar's den. As they stepped inside, Eaglestar looked up from grooming herself. "What is it?"

"Um… well… Raykit's missing… so we need you to get the rest of the Clan to help us find her." Shellfur blurted out the last part really quickly.

"How did this happen?" asked Eaglestar.

"Raykit was playing rough with Pebblekit, so Swanflight took her into a tiny clearing lined with brambles to put some distance between them," replied Shellfur.

"Hmm… this cub is becoming quite troublesome…" Eaglestar noted.

"Please, no!" Shellfur knew what she meant by that. "It's not her fault, really! Give her another chance!"

"Fine, fine," I'll tell my warriors to keep an eye out for her," meowed Eaglestar.

"Can't you send out a search party, or something?" prompted Shellfur.

"You sure are asking for a lot. I'll send one search party. That's it, and if they don't succeed, that's too bad. We'll keep looking for her though, but no more search parties. They waste our strength and energy. With leaf bare coming, these things are very important," decided Eaglestar.

"Thank you so much, Eaglestar," Shellfur meowed gratefully.

"You're welcome." Eaglestar padded out of her den and over to Dewmist. They discussed for a bit and then Dewmist nodded.

"Silverboulder, Tigerlily, Blackfox, and Berryseed!" called Dewmist. "Come here!"

Shellfur noticed that she left out Thornheart. She had made a wise decision.

The warriors whose names were called crowded around their leader and deputy. The medicine cat, Redfur, gave the four warriors traveling herbs so they wouldn't get hungry, and then they headed off.

Shellfur watched them as they left, wishing that she could go with them. She shrugged the feeling off and disappeared into the warrior's den for a quick catnap, hoping of all hopes that they would find Raykit and bring her back safely.


	7. Lost

**Okay, I updated this chapter to make it a little more realistic.**

Raykit reached down to her paw and pulled out a thorn, shrieking in pain. She had surprisingly made her way to the other side of the brambles, but she had suffered serious consequences. Her golden fur was covered in thorns and the pain was unbearable. Every time she pulled out a thorn, the pain just seemed to get even worse.

She had just barely managed moving away from the brambles so the warriors wouldn't hear her. Raykit continued to pull out thorns, wincing with each one. After what seemed like a decade, she finally had out all the thorns that she could reach, but the pain didn't stop.

_Maybe I should have waited_, she thought. It would have been much less painful that way. But it was too late now. Going back was out of the question for this battered lion. Her punctured skin was aching, and she most likely wouldn't survive another run through the brambles, even with the medicine cat's help afterwards.

Raykit stumbled out into the forest. She wasn't really sure what she could do in her condition, but at least she could move. So she kept moving, making sure to avoid any sharp objects.

As she tumbled deeper and deeper, she began to have regrets. She thought maybe she should go to the entrance of the camp, but the problem was that she didn't know where the camp was anymore. Not knowing what else to do, she simply kept going. After a while, the sun began to set in a beautiful orange, violet, pink, and yellow sky. Night was approaching and with leaf bare not far behind, the night was going to be cold. Very cold.

Raykit didn't have this knowledge, so she continued to travel through the forest, getting weaker and weaker. Finally her tiny body could take no more and she collapsed, panting from so much effort. She was now officially helpless. If any hungry night predator came along, she would make an easy snack.

"I just want to go home!" she cried out loud. She was helpless, hungry, upset, tired, and in terrible pain. As if the conditions couldn't get any worse, a drop of water landed on her forehead. She looked up and saw dark, threatening, clouds drifting over the sky. The gray clouds began to let loose hundreds and hundreds of raindrops. They fell from the night sky and splattered onto the ground.

The soaked, scrawny lion dragged herself under a large oak tree, which provided some protection from the storm. Raykit suddenly remembered something that Flowerblossom had meowed when she saw her kits wrestling roughly. "Oh StarClan, please help them."

And just like that, they had stopped fighting and started licking each other instead.

Who was StarClan? She wondered despite her miserable condition. Maybe if I ask them to help me, then I'll be saved. But in the conditions she was in, she didn't know how she could be saved.

_It's worth a try_, she decided. Raykit gazed into the dark sky and for the first time, she actually took interest in the stars. They were gorgeous, and appeared to be brighter then ever.

StarClan…

"Please help me StarClan!" she wailed into the night sky.

Just then a flash of lightning broke the calm and peace, providing a moment of light. In that moment, Raykit spotted better shelter. There was a cliff that rose off the ground. In the cliff was a small, dark hole. Right before the brightness left, she locked her eyes on the target. Then, in the pitch black, she scrambled into it.

Yes! She thought. Thank you, StarClan! She was no longer being simultaneously splattered with rain. It was a small comfort. She had just solved one of her problems, but she was still miserable.

Raykit curled into a tight ball and fell asleep.

…

As she slept heavily, a brown cat with white spots followed by a black cat and a silver tabby noticed her. He gestured towards her and the silver tabby bent over and grabbed her by the scruff. The three cats disappeared into the dark forest.


	8. The Discovery

"Shellfur! Get up already, you're due on a border patrol!"

Shellfur groaned and yawned, half awake. "This early?"

"Dawn patrol. Come on, we're late," demanded Owleye.

"Okay, okay," muttered Shellfur. She yawned again and stretched. Then she followed Owleye out into the camp. Early morning dew dripped off the dens and trees from the storm the other night.

Thornheart and Puddlepaw were waiting at the entrance of the camp. As Shellfur padded by, Thornheart whispered in her ear, "Sleepyhead."

She ignored him and continued walking. They headed for the ShadowClan border. As they traveled through the forest Shellfur kept wondering if the search party had found Raykit. When they were almost there, the strong smell of ShadowClan drifted into their noses.

"Just as I had expected," stated Thornheart. "Those stinkin' rats are back for more."

No one else said anything as they got closer to the borderline. The stench became overwhelming. Just then Shellfur saw a flash of dark brown fur directly ahead of her.

"Uh, did anyone else that?" inquired Shellfur nervously.

"Duh. Who couldn't see it?" spat Thornheart.

"It must be a ShadowClan patrol," guessed Owleye.

"Exactly, how'd you know?" came a rough voice. A black spotted white cat jumped out from behind the trees accompanied by the dark brown cat and a silver tabby.

"What are you doing stinking up our territory?" demanded Thornheart, claws unsheathed.

"We wish to deliver a message to your leader," the silver tabby claimed.

"Three cats? Why not one?" asked Owleye suspiciously.

"In case anything… happens on the way back," replied the spotted white tom.

"You are not seeing Eaglestar with an excuse like that," retorted Thornheart. "Now run away before I claw your eyes out."

"Wanna bet?" the brown tom prompted.

'Thornheart!" exclaimed Shellfur. "If they want to speak with Eaglestar then they can, but they will be watched carefully."

"In your dreams," muttered Thornheart.

"Come," ordered Owleye, taking control over the situation. "We'll take you to our camp, but don't try anything."

The ThunderClan patrol surrounded the ShadowClan cats and escorted them to the camp. It was an uncomfortable and awkward time for Shellfur. She kept trying to read the intruders' expressions, but they were blank.

By the time they got back to the camp, Shellfur was restless. Cats everywhere stopped what they were doing to stare at them. They brought the patrol into Eaglestar's den and waited outside in case they tried to attack their leader. Voices came from inside. As they waited Shellfur became anxious. The only thing she wanted to do at the moment was to learn whether the search party had succeeded or not. If they hadn't found Raykit then she would have been alone out in the cold stormy night.

After what seemed like moons the conversation finally ended. The ShadowClan cats came out first with victorious grins on their faces. Then a defeated looking Eaglestar left the den.

_That must've been some conversation they had,_ thought Shellfur.

"I need Blackfox, Tigerlily, and Stripetail to escort them back the border," called Eaglestar.

She leaped onto Highrock. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

Shellfur padded over to the Highrock and settled next to Silverboulder.

"ShadowClan has come to tell us they have found Raykit," announced Eaglestar.

Gasps and groans sounded from the crowd.

"The patrol told me that if we want her back, we'll have to fight for her," she continued.

"What?" cried Stripetail. "We're already weak. We wouldn't survive another battle."

"I know," sighed Eaglestar. "I was planning on allowing them to keep her. There's nothing else we can do."

"Eaglestar…" Shellfur couldn't believe. Surely she wouldn't give up that easily.

"Don't give up, Eaglestar!" roared Thornheart. "No confident leader would give up that easily. There has to be at least some fight left in you. If you let this happen, ShadowClan will certain that we'll the weakest Clan in the forest. Then they'll gloat about it at the gathering tomorrow and before you know it, we're be banished from the forest! And Raykit is still young enough to forget about being raised here. It's possible that she'll become ShadowClan's favorite little pet! There has to be something we can do. Maybe you could come up with a plan to beat them and take her back. I don't know! Just _something_, Eaglestar! _Something_!

Shellfur was impressed by Thornheart's little speech. It seemed like the rest of the Clan was, too. They started cheering and trying to encourage Eaglestar.

"My decision has already been decided," meowed Eaglestar blankly. "There's nothing we can do, and I won't let my warriors die trying. Meeting adjourned." She leaped off Highrock and disappeared into her den.

It had suddenly become very silent. Shellfur guessed that everyone was pondering in their minds why Eaglestar chose to ignore her Clan, just like her.

_Who gave up when there were so many options?_ She wondered and then answered it herself. _Eaglestar does._ Shellfur had always known that the battle had damaged Eaglestar's spirit more than her body, but this was new.

Gradually, all the cats began to continue their business. Dewmist had called for a hunting patrol, but Shellfur wasn't on it. So instead she headed towards the fresh kill pile. She gasped. There was only a scrawny mouse and squirrel left. She decided that she wouldn't be greedy and take one for herself, so she picked up the squirrel and went over to the nursery to give it to Swanflight.


	9. Understanding

Shellfur entered the nursery with the squirrel hanging from her jaws. Gazing around, she spotted Swanflight crouched in the corner gently licking Pebblekit with tears in her eyes. She dropped the squirrel, which landed with a soft thud on the ground at her paws.

"Swanflight?" meowed Shellfur softly. "What's wrong?"

Swanflight looked at Shellfur and then at the squirrel. "Is…is that for me?"

"Yes, of course," Shellfur nudged the squirrel closer to the queen.

"No, no," Swanflight shoved the squirrel back. "I don't deserve it. Go give it to someone who hasn't just ruined the entire ThunderClan."

Shellfur pushed the squirrel off to the side, no longer caring about it, and settled down next to Swanflight. "Can you tell me what's going on here?"

"I can't believe it!" blurted Swanflight. "I-I didn't mean any harm!"

"Feel free to tell me anything you want to," soothed Shellfur.

"I left Raykit in that clearing thinking it was for the best, but I didn't know that she would get out. It rained yesterday, and I was so worried. And now she's in the wrong set of paws. StarClan save her! Before they found her, she must have been in a horrible condition. I doubt that ShadowClan will be that kind to her, and it's possible she's being hurt right now by them. Then to make matters worse, our leader has given up hope! But I suppose it would make at least some sense since, after all, we did lose the previous battle with ShadowClan…but that's no reason why we can't win the next time. All of this is my fault! I don't deserve anything…not even my life! I can't stand bringing such misfortune into my Clan."

"I understand, Swanflight, but you don't need to end your time on this world just yet. StarClan can wait longer for you. You see, you still have a life to take care of. Look at what you are doing right now. You are grooming your kit. If you didn't exist, then neither would Pebblekit. And it would have been overwhelming for Flowerblossom if she had to nurse Raykit along with her other three kits. I want you to know, Swanflight, that you have a wonderful place here, and there's no need to end it. Besides, Pebblekit still needs your milk to feed on." Shellfur looked at Swanflight, who was now gazing into Pebblekit's yellow eyes, and added, "Just remember that, okay?"

Swanflight nodded and went back to licking her kit. Shellfur began to leave, and tripped over the squirrel. She picked it up and dropped it near Swanflight. "Please eat this. You need the fuel to feed your kit."

A look of trust passed between them. Swanflight reached over and prodded the squirrel closer. "Thanks," she whispered and started to chew on the prey's fluffy coat.

As soon as Shellfur left the nursery, she let out a sigh. She couldn't believe how long it took just to give Swanflight some food. Although she had given her more than just food, she had given her hope.

**Short chapter, I know. Hopefully the next one will be longer. **


	10. Two New Warriors

Shellfur stood outside, unsure of what to do when Dewmist called, "We need a hunting patrol! Silverboulder, you may lead the patrol. Please choose three other cats to go with you."

She bounded over to Silverboulder. "Can I come?" she asked, not knowing what else to do.

"Sure," agreed Silverboulder. He headed for the apprentices' den to call for his apprentice, Salmonpaw.

Shellfur waited as Silverboulder added the last cat to the patrol: Berryseed.

"Okay, let's go catch some prey!" Silverboulder dashed to the entrance of the camp with the others right behind him.

When they were in the forest, they once again split up. This time, however, Silverboulder insisted that he should hunt with his apprentice since he wanted to teach Salmonpaw some new skills.

Shellfur padded away from the others quietly so she wouldn't scare away any prey. She lifted her nose to the air and sniffed. The scent of a mouse drifted to her. She looked around and saw a brown mouse a few tail lengths away nibbling on a nut in its tiny paws. She crouched down low, swaying her haunches back and forth, and pounced, claws unsheathed. The mouse spotted her in mid-air, dropped the nut, and attempted to scurry away. It was too late. Shellfur landed on the mouse and nipped it on the back of its neck, ending its life for her Clan.

She buried her prey and continued on for more. When she was done, she had caught an additional mouse, and a vole. _Not bad_, she told herself.

Shellfur brought her prey and met up with the rest of the patrol. They headed back to the camp with their prey in their jaws, walking proudly. As they dropped the prey in the fresh kill pile, Eaglestar came out from her den and padded over to Salmonpaw.

"Salmonpaw, you and Puddlepaw have been an apprentices for many moons. I think it's about time you two had your final test," announced Eaglestar.

"Yes!" exclaimed Salmonpaw. An excited grin spread across his face.

"Now, go tell Puddlepaw while I let your mentors know. I know you just back from hunting, but I think you can catch some more prey still, don't you think?" meowed Eaglestar.

"Of course!" cried Salmonpaw. "I'll tell Puddlepaw right now!" He dashed off towards the apprentices' den.

Eaglestar turned to the hunting patrol. "As for the rest of you, great job out there. Oh and did you heard about what I just told Salmonpaw, Silverboulder?"

"I did," replied Silverboulder. "And I'm glad to hear it."

"Very well," Eaglestar said. "I'll go tell Owleye." She went over to the warriors' den.

Shellfur blinked and then grasped a mouse in her jaws. She began to chew on its tender meat. When she had finished, she decided to take another catnap.

_Hopefully this time I won't sleep for the rest of the day_, she thought.

Right before she entered the warriors' den, Eaglestar bursted out with Owleye at her side. Silverboulder joined them along with Salmonpaw and Puddlepaw.

"Go out there and catch as much prey as you can find. Your mentors will be watching you two, so make sure to use all the skills you were taught by them," Eaglestar explained. "Good luck!"

The apprentices accompanied by their mentors left the camp.

Shellfur went into the warriors' den and curled up on her pile of moss. She dozed off peacefully with her tail relaxed at her side.

…

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

Shellfur groaned and stumbled out into the clearing. Eaglestar was perched on Highrock with cats gathering below her. She joined them, settling next to Tigerlily and Hailpaw.

"Today we have gathered to celebrate the coming of new warriors. These apprentices have trained hard to understand the meaning of the warrior code, and have been trained in the ways of battle. After many moons of hard work, they stand here today to become full warriors. Let's begin."

Eaglestar turned to Puddlepaw. "Puddlepaw, do you promise to defend the Clan at all costs? Even with your life?

"I do," promised Puddlepaw.

"Very well. Puddlepaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Puddlesplash. StarClan honors your strength and loyalty."

"Puddlesplash! Puddlesplash! Puddlesplash!" cheered the cats below.

Puddlesplash beamed and bowed to the crowd.

Eaglestar turned to face Salmonpaw. "Salmonpaw, do you promise to the defend the Clan at all costs? Even with your life?"

"I do," announced Salmonpaw.

"Very well. Salmonpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Salmonwhisker. StarClan honors your strength and bravery."

"Salmonwhisker! Salmonwhisker! Salmonwhisker!" cheered the crowd once again.

Salmonwhisker grinned.

Eaglestar waited until the cheers had quieted down before continuing. "You two must keep vigil for the night as all new warriors do."

She jumped off Highrock and headed for the fresh kill pile, obviously hungry.

Shellfur padded over to the two new warriors to congratulate them personally, who were surrounded by cats. After the mob of cats cleared, she moved in.

"Congratulations! Now we'll have to make some new beds in the warriors' den." She smiled.

"I know!" exclaimed Puddlesplash. "And I can't wait to start hunting without being bossed around by Owleye, not that she was a bad mentor or anything."

"Yep. It really is a pleasure," meowed Shellfur.

"Well, I got to go and, you know, make some room in my new den before Salmonwhisker takes the good spot," Puddlesplash declared.

Salmonwhisker glanced at her and shouted, "Race you there!" Both of them dashed towards the warriors' den. Salmonwhisker beat Puddlesplash by half a tail length. They started arguing over who cheated.

Shellfur sighed and looked around the clearing, realizing for the first time that Thornheart wasn't around. He hadn't been at the meeting either.

_Why should I care?_ She asked herself. _It was better without that snob._

She quickly took her last thought back. Recently, Thornheart hadn't been that bad. His 'little speech' was quite interesting, too. She remembered that moment when Eaglestar decided not to fight ShadowClan again, even when the whole Clan cheered her on. Even when Thornheart, a normally horrible cat at heart, coughed up a pretty decent speech telling her why she shouldn't give up. She could still hear the bravery and determination in his voice. Then the look on his face when his leader had given up. A look of shock and despair as his leader turned her back on the entire Clan. Although all he had done was try to talk some sense into Eaglestar, Shellfur found that it was more than that. To her, he was finally doing something good instead of terrorizing kits and hurting his Clanmates.

"Thornheart doing something good," she whispered to herself. "What a surprise."

But where was he now? It was possible that he was out hunting, but if so, then he was hunting solo because he was the only cat missing at the meeting. What if, because he was the only one who really cared now, he had gone off to get Raykit back himself? It was impossible, but yet, it seemed plausible. One cat against an entire Clan. Unless he had a plan, which seemed very unlikely for a cat like Thornheart, then he wouldn't make it.


	11. The Plan

A dark brown tom stood at in RiverClan territory, sniffing the air for patrols. When he smelled none, he was back on the move, weaving around trees and bushes with his ears and nose still alert. He continued to pad forward silently until he was face to face with three other toms.

They started to circle around him, growling, but then they recognized him. "There you are, Thornheart. We've been waiting for quite some time now," a gray tom with black stripes declared.

"It took me a while to come up with an excuse to get out of camp," explained Thornheart. "So are you ready?"

"Of course we're ready, now let's go get the others," an orange tom with light brown paws announced.

All four toms dashed quietly through RiverClan territory. Finally, they stood at the borderline between RiverClan and WindClan. They raced up and down hills until when they were at the bottom of valley. There, they met up with five cats, four of them were toms, but the last one was a she-cat.

"Let's get this show on the road!" cried a tom.

"Now we need to add those rouges I mentioned earlier. They should be at the island," Thornheart meowed.

"Not those guys again," groaned a tom.

"We need them, okay? They're an important part in this," stated Thornheart.

So the nine cats raced back through WindClan territory, running up and down the hills again. They passed horseplace and then stopped at the tree leading to the island. One at a time they crawled from the branch to the island, except for the RiverClan cats. They simply swam over, making some of the other cats envious. When they all had crossed, they padded into the middle of the island, where the Clans gathered every full moon.

There they met with fourteen rouges, all skinny, but strong looking. One of them stepped forward.

"You remember the deal, right Thornheart?" he rasped.

"Yes I do," replied Thornheart. "You help us, we give you guys food."

"Exactly," He grinned.

"Good, I'm glad everyone came today, now let's show ShadowClan that no one messes with ThunderClan and gets way with it!" cried Thornheart.

They all cheered, except for the one female in the entire group. "What do you mean? You're the only ThunderClan cat here."

"Whatever, now let's go!"

The twenty-three cats dashed off the island, once again having to get slowed down by the tree, and then raced around the lake. They finally came to a stop at another borderline, this one separating ThunderClan and ShadowClan. Without hesitation they all crossed it and ran through ShadowClan territory, obviously not caring about stealth. They made their way to the camp and burst in, roaring battle cries and leaping onto the ShadowClan cats' backs.

Thornheart jumped onto an enemy's shoulders and sliced a long, red gash down his back. The tom let out a screech of pain and shook Thornheart off. Then the tom barreled into him, knocking him down. The tom jumped onto him and reared back, about his claw his exposed belly. Thornheart kicked him off and got back on his paws. The tom hit the ground with a sickening thud and did not move. Not caring if he was dead or not, Thornheart raced over to a giant she-cat who had a rouge's neck under her enormous paw. She pressed down harder, and the rouge gagged, eyes clouded with the knowing that he was about to die. Thornheart moved closer and bit down hard on her tail. He heard a satisfying crunch as he reached the bone. The she-cat yowled and smacked his head with the full force of her free paw.

Thornheart saw stars and shook his head, trying to clear them. His head was throbbing with pain. While he stood there doing nothing the she-cat pressed even harder on the rouge's throat, and then let go. The rouge scurried away, gagging and choking. She turned her attention back on Thornheart and sliced his ear, blood flying everywhere. He screeched and dodged a blow to his side. The she-cat leaped onto him and started slicing his back. Thornheart yowled with each blow, enduring the pain. Then he rolled over, leaving her on the ground. He sliced open her belly with fury and rage. She managed to get back on her paws, but instead of attacking, she ran out into the forest, screaming in pain.

He stumbled over to the nursery, and beckoned to a WindClan tom that wasn't fighting at the moment. The tom followed him inside the dark and stuffy nursery. All of sudden he was face to face with a ShadowClan queen.

"Don't even think about stealing my kits!" she warned.

"I'm here to take back what you stole," Thornheart declared.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"The lion!" snarled Thornheart.

"Oh!" she said. "We didn't steal it, we found it. That helpless little lion of yours was sleeping in our territory. I guess it wanted to be with us."

"If you don't give her back, I'm going to fight you for her," he announced.

"Not near my kits," she told him. "Outside."

"I don't care!" he cried and signaled to the WindClan warrior to attack. They both slammed into her at the same time. Thornheart placed his paw on her throat, claws unsheathed.

"If you value your life, you will give her back now!" he roared.

"You would…kill me?" she gasped.

"Just give her back," Thornheart demanded.

"Okay, okay, now please let me go," she wailed.

He slid his paw off her and whispered to the WindClan tom, "Guard the entrance." The tom nodded and padded to the entrance.

The queen went to the back of the nursery and came out with Raykit dangling in her jaws.

"Put her down," he ordered.

She did as she was told and gently placed her on the ground at his paws. He picked her up and left, turning his back on her.

The she-cat took her chance and slashed with her claws down his already wounded back. He dropped Raykit and turned back around, glaring at her. Then he beckoned the tom and they both slammed into her again. This time, she stayed on her paws and knocked Thornheart over. She jumped on him and put her claws at his throat.

"Don't move, or he dies!" she warned the WindClan cat.

Then she whispered in his ear, "Now it's your turn," she told him. "You will give the lion back to me."

Raykit stared at the Thornheart. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but she did know that he had just attempted to save her. Without thinking, she let out a tiny roar, jumped up, and bit the queen's leg. She yowled and shook her leg, trying to shake Raykit off, but she was too stubborn to let go.

Taking use of the distraction, Thornheart kicked the queen off, grabbed Raykit, who took some fur with her, and made a dash for it. The tom followed him as he burst into the clearing. The battle was still raging on.

"Retreat!" he called. "We have what we came for, let's go!"

All the RiverClan, WindClan, and rouges raced behind him as he dashed out of the camp. A few ShadowClan cats chased after them at first, but they quickly gave up. When they left ShadowClan territory they finally stopped running.

"We succeeded!" Thornheart exclaimed.

Cheers sounded from the crowd.

"Thank you all for helping, you may now go back to your homes," he announced.

The group of cats broke into three sections and headed back to their territory.

Thornheart entered ThunderClan territory with Raykit at his side. She saved the day, he thought cheerfully.

For the first time in his entire life, Thornheart liked a kit.


	12. The Return

Shellfur was padding back and forth restlessly, hoping that Thornheart would come back safely. She had told Eaglestar and her Clanmates about what she was sure he had been doing, but Eaglestar didn't believe her. Now she was more desperate than ever to see him again.

Just then, like a miracle, an injured, but still breathing Thornheart appeared at the entrance of the camp. Not only was he there, but Raykit was too! She padded along proudly at his side.

Shellfur dashed over to greet them, followed by some of her surprised Clanmates. Blackfox ran to Eaglestar's den to spread the news. "I can't believe you conquered ShadowClan and got Raykit back safely!" she cried.

"It wasn't easy, you see, I brought together some cats from the Clans that I knew from the gathering and some rouges. Then we brought them down. Nobody messes with ThunderClan and gets away with it!" exclaimed Thornheart heroically.

"You brought rouges?" Tigerlilly asked suspiciously.

"Don't worry, they were just fine," Thornheart stated.

As ThunderClan continued to prod Thornheart with questions, Eaglestar and Blackfox came out. Blackfox joined the crowd, which made way for Eaglestar. She padded right in front of Thornheart and sat down.

"How did you do it?" she inquired, head slightly tilted.

"I believed that I was the only one who still had hope. I thought long and hard that day until I came up with a plan. Don't you see, Eaglestar? It worked, my plan worked. And I'm sure that you could've done it better," replied Thornheart.

Eaglestar didn't seem to notice his answer. Her expression changed from confusion, to anger. "I told you not to go," she meowed firmly. "I didn't want you to get any more wounded than you already were. And now look at you! You're barely standing! Even worse, you disobeyed your leader by fighting when I told you not to. I don't want another word of this. Take the lion back to the nursery, and yourself to the medicine cat. I'm glad we have our lion back, but I don't like how you did it." She turned her back on Thornheart and waved her tail dismissively as she padded back to her den.

Thornheart blinked and then gestured to Raykit to go back in the nursery. Then he disappeared inside the medicine cat's den, shoulder slumped in disappointment.

Shellfur sighed. She didn't think he deserved that after such hard work. He had saved the Clan, and was scolded as a reward. _Why was_ _Eaglestar doing this?_ She wondered. _What was wrong with her?_

"Border and hunting patrols!" called Dewmist, cutting through her thoughts. "I need Salmonwhisker, Berryseed, and Tulipaw with Shellfur leading for the border patrol, and Puddlesplash, Stripetail, and Tigerlilly with Owleye leading the hunting patrol! Border patrol, you will inspect the WindClan border! Get going as soon as you're ready!"

Excitement sparked inside Shellfur. Her first time leading a patrol!

Salmonwhisker, Berryseed, and Tulipaw followed Shellfur as she led them out of the camp, and to the WindClan border. The WindClan scent marks were a little faint, and they hadn't crossed the border. Soon, fresh ThunderClan scent marks were sprayed on their side of the border. They continued to spray as they traveled. When they finally finished, they returned just in time to find Eaglestar leaping onto Highrock.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Highrock for a Clan meeting!" Shellfur settled next to Tigerlilly.

"I have two things to say. First of all, the gathering is tonight, and I have decided who will go," Eaglestar announced. "I will take Dewmist, Redfur, Blackfox, Tigerlilly, Stripetail, Shellfur, Berryseed, Puddlesplash, Salmonwhisker, Owleye, Hailpaw, Tulipaw, Scratchnose, and Bramblelegs. Secondly, Raykit has been with us for some time now, and I'm sure she is already older than six moons. And so, Raykit, it is time for you to become an apprentice!"

She beckoned to Raykit, who padded to the front of the crowd proudly.

"Raykit," she continued. "You have waited some time now, do you wish to become an apprentice and begin training to become a warrior?"

"I do," replied Raykit, copying the warrior ceremony she had witnessed.

"Very well," Eaglestar nodded. "Until you become a warrior, you will be known as Raypaw. Shellfur, you have discovered this lion and brought her to us in dark times. I announce you as Raypaw's mentor!"

Shellfur beamed and padded over to Raypaw. She touched her gently on the nose.

The crowd cheered, "Raypaw! Raypaw! Raypaw!"

"Meeting adjourned!" finished Eaglestar.

Despite the wonderful event, Shellfur couldn't help noticing that Eaglestar hadn't included Thornheart in the gathering list. She should've known Eaglestar would do that.


	13. Gathering

"Let's go!" called Eaglestar as she herded her Clan out the entrance. It was time for them to go to the gathering.

Shellfur couldn't wait. She burst out of camp, energy flowing within her, and dashed to the front of the crowd. Puddlesplash raced towards her until they were padding at the same pace.

"Hey Shellfur," she greeted casually. "You know, I am so excited for the gathering. This is my first time as a warrior!"

Shellfur flashed her a look of understanding and mewed, "Last moon, it was my first time at the gathering, too. I was so psyched I felt like I was going to burst with energy. I'm still excited now, actually, but not that excited."

"Cool." Puddlesplash suddenly glanced around nervously and then whispered, "Let's go to the back, okay? I want to talk with you about something."

Shellfur shrugged, but copied her as she stopped moving, letting everyone else get in front of them. Once they were in the back, they started to follow their Clan mates. Puddlesplash brought up a new conversation, this time in a hushed whisper.

"Have you ever noticed how Eaglestar has been acting lately?" she asked.

Shellfur thought about it. She had noticed her acting strange recently, like when she gave up in front of her Clan. She had also seen with her own eyes how Eaglestar had treated Thornheart when he had not only shown ShadowClan who's the boss, but had brought Raypaw back home safely. Maybe, being a usual bossy, stuck-up cat that despised kits, he didn't deserve a luxury award, but he definitely didn't deserve to be scolded and ignored by his own leader. If it weren't for Thornheart's pride and amazing ability to keep going, then Raypaw would be Raykit, and would be stuck in ShadowClan, not knowing what would become of her. Then again, Eaglestar was on her third life, meaning that she had been alive for some quite some time now. She had served her Clan for many moons, and it could just be that she was getting old and needed some extra enthusiasm to get her going again.

"She has been rather odd lately," replied Shellfur. "But maybe it's just because she's growing old. If she hadn't been made leader, then she might be in the elders' den by now."

"That's possible," began Puddlesplash. "But maybe that's not it. Besides, how can age affect the mind?"

"She's been through a lot, Puddlesplash," declared Shellfur. "Perhaps she's just getting tired and doesn't want any more battles."

"If that's true, then what's going to happen if the other Clans figure it out?" wondered Puddlesplash out loud. "If they know our leader doesn't want to fight anymore, then they'll start claiming our territory effortlessly. We can't let that happen! I can't believe I'm saying this, but…we need a new leader."

Shellfur opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Eaglestar.

"We're almost there now," she announced. "We just need to cross the tree trunk and we'll be on the island. One behind the other." She started the line by hopping onto the tree, beckoning to her deputy.

Dewmist followed behind her. Behind Dewmist was Redfur, and next was Owleye. By then Eaglestar had reached the other side, and Dewmist was not far behind. When they had all crossed, they padded to the meeting place. RiverClan and WindClan were already there, and had consumed themselves in chatter. ThunderClan joined the conversation as they waited for ShadowClan to arrive.

Shellfur glanced around before joining a group of RiverClan and WindClan warriors.

"Hey," greeted a longhaired ginger tom with a white underbelly and paws. "I was just telling these guys about how I caught a rabbit once. It was so frustrating. You see, I was hunting with my brother, Yellowstripe, and…"

Shellfur stopped listening when she heard the arrival of ShadowClan. The sound of their paws stomping the ground as they padded to the meeting area was carried into her ears by the wind. She could feel the rage burning on their pelts. She hoped that they wouldn't break the warrior code and attack at the gathering. They must be angry about what Thornheart did, she guessed. She was suddenly relieved that Thornheart hadn't come to the gathering, since he might anger them even further.

As soon as they arrived, Pinestar, the ShadowClan leader, leaped onto a branch on the tree where the leaders address the Clans. "Now that all the Clans are here, let's begin!" she announced.

The other three leaders jumped onto a branch as well and faced the crowd.

Amberstar, the leader of RiverClan, went first. "The prey has been swimming and running well in RiverClan. We have two new kits that have already opened their eyes. Please welcome Rosekit and Tanglekit to the world."

The Clans cheered, especially RiverClan, for the two newborns.

Next went the leader of WindClan, Brackenstar. "The prey is also running well in WindClan," he began. "We have been healthy and safe for some time now, and I do hope this continues."

Eaglestar was next. She crept out closer to the crowd on her branch. "The prey has been running well. We also have two new warriors today. Salmonwhisker and Puddlesplash, please stand up."

Both of the warriors obeyed and stood up. The crowd cheered again, except all the ShadowClan cats remained silent.

Pinestar went last, now anxious to announce what was on her mind. "ThunderClan has stolen from us," she declared. Immediately ThunderClan started to argue.

"She is rightfully ours!"

"We took back what you stole!"

"Stop complaining, we found her first!"

Eaglestar motioned with her tail for silence. "Pinestar, I understand that you might be bothered by this, but my Clan is correct. We own her, not you."

"A patrol of ours found her in our territory. I don't care how she got there, but all that matters right now is that we didn't steal her. We _found_ her," Pinestar pointed out.

"What are you talking about? Found what?" demanded a cat.

Eaglestar sighed and then admitted the truth. "A young warrior of ThunderClan discovered something one day that will surprise you all. I do not know where she came from, but what my warrior found was none other than a lioness."

"A female lion!" exclaimed another cat. "In your territory? That's impossible!"

"Yeah right, like I'm going to believe that," snorted Brackenstar.

Amberstar glanced at Eaglestar, and then Pinestar. "What is going on here?" he asked. "A lioness? Seriously?"

"Yes, Amberstar," replied Eaglestar calmly. "Seriously."

Shellfur felt horrible. She was hoping something like this wouldn't happen. Why did Pinestar have to bring up the subject? This was a war between ThunderClan and ShadowClan; it had nothing to do with the other Clans. Why did they have to know? Now that everyone knew they had a lioness in their camp, they were bound to try to steal her eventually, which would cause another battle. She recalled her conversation with Puddlesplash earlier, and how she herself had said that Eaglestar might not be okay with any more battles. She could break down and lose the last of her spirit. Didn't she realize what she had just done by telling the truth?

"Eaglestar, I demand you to return the lioness as soon as this gathering is over," meowed Pinestar firmly. "Your warrior and many other cats stole her. She is ours and I want her back."

"She is not yours," shot back Eaglestar. "I will not return her, for she is ours."

Shellfur was amazed at how strong Eaglestar was. But it was possible that it wouldn't last forever.

"She belongs to us! Give her back!" snarled Pinestar.

"No!" screamed Eaglestar. "How many times to I have to tell you she's ours?"

Just then several dark, gloomy clouds floated over the moon. The silver moonlight started to vanish as drops of rain started to fall from the sky. Thunder sounded and not long later a flash of lightning flashed in the distance, not far from the island. The rain continued to fall, soaking the Clans to the bone.

"It's a sign from StarClan!" cried Amberstar over the rain and thunder. "We have gone too far. We have angered StarClan, and we must stop this at once. The gathering is over."

All the Clans waited as their leaders leaped off the slippery branches and onto the wet ground. Eaglestar padded to her Clan and led them home, stealing a glance over her shoulder at Pinestar.

They traveled silently and when they finally made it back home, the camp was soaking wet, just like them. Rainwater was dripping off dens and pelts and soaking the ground. The fresh kill pile was soggy, and no longer appetizing.

Shellfur headed into her den and laid down onto some dry moss. Other warriors settled down around her. After what seemed like moons Shellfur's eyelids started to droop. Right before she fell asleep, a voice whispered in her ear.

"How was the gathering?" she realized it was Thornheart asking her, but she was too tired to explain the entire thing.

"Horrible," she muttered and fell asleep, exhausted.


	14. First Day of Training

Rawpaw's eyes opened slightly. Then they closed again. All of a sudden, they burst open, and Raypaw was charging out of the apprentices' den and into the warriors' den.

"Shellfur! Wake up!" she shrieked, waking every cat in the den.

Shellfur groaned and got off of her moss bed. "Quiet down, Raypaw," she ordered.

Thornheart opened an eye, hissed, and fell back asleep.

Shellfur sighed and padded out of her den with Raypaw skipping along happily beside her.

"Today I'll start your training by teaching you the basics of hunting," began Shellfur. "Now, since leaf bare has started to arrive, you can't expect much prey."

As she talked they walked out of camp and into the forest. It was no longer raining, and a frigid wind was soaring around the bare trees. Dew dripped from the branches and splattered onto the ground where a layer of mud had been coated where dirt had once been. Leaf bare had taken its hold, and the forest was no longer green.

"Lift your nose into the air and sniff," continued Shellfur. "Do you smell anything?"

Raypaw did as she was told and sniffed the air. The scent of vole was in the air, but it was faint, so most likely it had left already. "I smell a faint vole scent, but that's all."

"Well let's keep moving then," Shellfur led the way deeper into the forest. Suddenly, Raypaw stopped, her paws sliding on the soaked forest floor. She sniffed again, and the message sent to her nose was clear.

"Vole!" she cried.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Shellfur, sharing Raypaw's excitement. She sniffed and picked up the scent as well. "Next we need to find it with our eyes. Look around. Can you see it?"

Raypaw gazed around the forest until her eyes fell upon a scrawny vole wandering aimlessly between two large trees.

"I see it," she replied.

"Good. Now watch what I do, okay? I'll catch it so you can see how to do it." Shellfur announced.

She crouched low and crept over to the vole. When she was within range, she pressed herself down even lower, haunches wiggling. Then she pounced directly onto the vole and finished it off before it could escape. She grasped the prey and dropped at Raypaw's paws, shaking some mud off her pelt.

"Do you understand?" Shellfur inquired.

"I think so," answered Raypaw.

"Do what I just did and pretend a tree trunk is your prey," Shellfur meowed.

Raypaw pressed herself low to the ground and clumsily stumbled forward, haunches moving slowly. With every paw step her thick pads hit the ground and made loud thuds. Her tail dragged uselessly in the mud. When she had reached her target, she pounced and missed the tree by half a tail length. She fell face first into the mud and lay there, not moving.

"Raypaw!" cried Shellfur. She rushed over to where she had fell and crouched down. She muzzled her. "Are you okay?"

Raypaw lifted her head out of the mud and dragged herself closer to Shellfur. "This is hard," she mumbled.

Shellfur looked into her eyes. "Raypaw, it's different for you," she explained. "You're a lion, not a regular cat. You're so much bigger and nosier than us Clan cats. I'm so sorry I didn't realize this before."

Raypaw gasped. What did she mean?

"Let's take you home," said Shellfur. She nudged Raypaw until she was back on her paws. Then she beckoned for her to follow her as she picked up her vole and turned in the direction of the camp.

Raypaw followed behind, shoulders slumped and eyes glazed with worry. She didn't understand why she couldn't be like them. She was bigger, of course, but maybe she could still learn. Maybe.

When they entered the camp, Shellfur dropped her prey in the fresh kill pile and headed towards the warriors' den. She looked back at Raypaw. "Bring a piece of prey to the elders' den," she ordered and then disappeared inside.

Raypaw sighed and picked up Shellfur's vole. Then she padded over to the elders' den.

"Hello Raypaw," greeted Bramblelegs. "Is that for me?" He nodded towards the vole in her jaws.

"Yeah," replied Raypaw. She placed it next to him and left.

"You forgot me, apprentice!" Scratchnose called after her.

Raypaw groaned and meowed back, "Can't you two share?"

"It's too small for that!" yelled Scratchnose. "Get another one, will ya?"

Raypaw trotted back to the fresh kill pile, grasped a wet mouse, and padded back.

"Here," she said and dropped it and Scratchnose's paws.

"Thank you," mewed Scratchnose formally and began to eat. "Although it is a little wet."

Raypaw ignored her and left once again. She headed for the apprentices' den.

Once she was inside, she laid down, but she wasn't tired. She overheard Hailpaw and Tulip-paw chatting.

"We've been training for a while now," Hailpaw mewed.

"I know," replied Tulip-paw. "And I can't wait until we're warriors!"

"It's going to be so exciting!" exclaimed Hailpaw.

Raypaw rolled over and blocked them out. She didn't want to hear about becoming a warrior. After a while she got bored, so she walked out of the apprentices' den and headed for the fresh kill pile. There was only a vole and a thrush left. She picked out the thrush and ate it quickly. She was still hungry. She gazed longingly at the vole, but forced herself not to eat it.

Suddenly she heard a cry just outside the camp. "WindClan, attack!"


	15. The Battle With WindClan

**Alert! This chapter is a little gruesome at times! (Tee-hee :D). **

As soon as the battle cry sounded, Shellfur was awake and on her paws, dashing out of her den and into the clearing. Other cats followed her. A brown head peeked from the leader's den, saw the commotion, and then disappeared back inside. A few seconds later Eaglestar was running out of her den to join her Clan.

Just then, WindClan cats started streaming into the camp, and leaping at the ThunderClan cats. A large brown tom slammed into Shellfur, who leaned over and then slipped on the wet ground. She landed on her belly and immediately got back up again. She jumped to the side just as the WindClan warrior leaped. Then she jumped onto his shoulders and raked her claws from the back of his head, all the way down to his haunches, ripping open his back. The tom screeched loudly in pain and shook her off, then disappeared into the forest.

A bone-breaking crunch came from behind her and when she turned around she saw a she-cat with her jaws in her tail, biting down pleasurably. To her horror, when the she-cat let go, half of her tail bent downwards. She yowled as pain erupted within her. The WindClan warrior then slashed her haunches. Shellfur winced and then charged at the she-cat, who jumped to one side just as she had earlier. The she-cat dashed up to her and was slashed in the nose by her opponent. She knocked Shellfur over and reared back, preparing to slice open her belly. Shellfur braced herself, unable to kick her off because the she-cat was sitting on her back legs.

To Shellfur's surprise, Stripetail came to the rescue and barreled into the WindClan warrior, ripping her ear. Shellfur got back on her paws and together, her and Stripetail; they took down the enemy and sent her running back where she belonged.

"Thanks," she nodded at Stripetail.

"It was nothing," replied Stripetail, and then he dashed over to another WindClan warrior.

Shellfur glanced back at her broken tail and groaned. _That sure is_ _some battle scar_, she thought. _But if it hadn't been for Stripetail, my conditions would be even worse._

She gazed around at the battle scene before her. Cats were slicing open each other gruesomely. Suddenly she wondered how Raypaw was doing. Golden fur caught her eye, and then she saw her. Raypaw was fighting Brackenstar! She watched as Raypaw knocked him over and starting raking his belly with her huge claws. Brackenstar kicked her off and started to charge at her. Raypaw reared back, exposing her belly, and he charged even faster. Right before he hit her, Raypaw slammed down with all her strength in her paws, claws unsheathed, leaving Brackenstar crumpled horribly at her paws, motionless. He was losing a life! The clearing became quiet as life began to leave his body, and he stopped breathing. What seemed like moons later, he twitched and then coughed up a mouthful of blood. Then he starting screeching disturbingly, and writhing in his own blood. The scene was ugly. The battle had paused, and all the cats starting gathering around to see what was happening. Once again he stopped moving, blood pouring out from him on all sides.

Shellfur couldn't believe what was happening. Brackenstar was losing another life! This time, however, when he came back, he managed to stand up. His eyes were clouded with pain, and his bloody, torn body was shaking violently.

"Re-retreat!" he rasped and starting to limp awkwardly towards the exit of the camp. Two WindClan warriors ran to either side of him to help hold him up. The rest of WindClan dashed out of the camp, relieved to get away from the gruesome battle.

The whole time Raypaw had watched what she had done silently. Now, she broke down and starting crying with relief and regret. Shellfur padded over to her to try and comfort her.

"You saved the day," congratulated Shellfur. "And WindClan won't set a paw in this camp ever again thanks to what you did."

"That was horrible," Raypaw mewed. "I can't believe I did that."

"I know, but it was for the good of the Clan," meowed Shellfur.

"If you have any serious wounds that must be tended to immediately, please go to Redfur!" called Eaglestar.

Shellfur looked at her broken tail again. "I have to go," she told Raypaw and headed to the medicine cat's den. A few others followed her. Redfur was arranging herbs when they stepped in.

"Great StarClan!" he cried when he saw them. He grabbed a mouthful of herbs and rushed over to Puddlesplash, who had a serious scratch in her belly. He dropped the herbs, picking up some marigold, and starting to rub it into her wound. Then he grabbed some cobwebs and started to patch them on. When he was done, he gave her some poppy seeds and sent her to her den for a rest.

Shellfur waited patiently as he treated two other patients before he came to her. Redfur inspected her scratches, and then gasped when he saw her tail. He ran to his herb storage and picked out some comfrey. He chewed them up, and then rubbed the poultice on her tail. Shellfur winced in pain.

"Don't worry," soothed Redfur. "Your tail is broken, and comfrey will help." Next he placed some cobwebs around the area where it was bent. "Go get some rest," he ordered and started to treat the last patient.

Shellfur padded out and into the clearing. She went to the fresh kill pile to find that it was empty. Disappointed, she walked over to Dewmist.

"Can you organize a hunting patrol?" she asked.

"Right after a battle?" Concern filled Dewmist's eyes. "But I do suppose we can use some food. Very well, I'll find the healthiest cats here. Oh and I'll lead it."

Shellfur nodded and then padded to the warriors' den. She laid down with her tail carefully wrapped around her and fell asleep.


	16. Under the Stars

**Sorry I haven't been updating that often. I've sort of been running out of ideas. If you have any, please say it in your review. It would be very helpful! Anyway, here's another chapter!**

Shellfur opened her eyes, and yawned, her belly growling, and stepped around sleeping warriors until she was out of the warriors' den. The night sky loomed above her, covered in beautiful stars. A cold, yet refreshing breeze blew into her face and ruffled her fur playfully. She purred, welcoming it, and padded to the fresh kill pile. Looking at the amount of prey left, it seemed that the hunting patrol had some success. There was a mouse, a thrush, and vole. She gripped the mouse, which was the smallest, and sat down to eat.

As she ate, Raypaw padded out from the apprentice's den and plopped down next to her. "Hi," she greeted.

"Hello," meowed Shellfur after she swallowed another bite. "Tomorrow I'm going to take you out to train again."

"Oh," mewed Raypaw. "Hunting or fighting?"

Shellfur giggled playfully. "It seems as though you don't need much battle training, so I was going to take you out hunting."

"Okay," Raypaw gazed off into the forest.

"Hopefully you can catch something this time." As soon as the words came out, Shellfur instantly regretted saying them.

"Yeah," she responded without any sign of anger or sadness.

"Raypaw? You seem a little distant. Is anything wrong?" she asked.

Raypaw looked back at Shellfur. "I stink at hunting, but I'm great at fighting. What's that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe it's not supposed to mean anything. You can always keep practicing to hunt and maybe one day you'll catch a lot," replied Shellfur. "Then you'll be good at both."

"It doesn't seem like my element," said Raypaw. "It's just so hard to be quiet enough in a forest."

"Practice makes perfect, you know," stated Shellfur. "Or just better."

Raypaw gazed up at the stars shining brilliantly in the dark sky. "Shellfur, I'd like to tell you something."

"Yes?" asked Shellfur, tilting her head slightly.

"When I was alone in the forest the day I disappeared from camp, I was so miserable. I was soaked to the bone, starving, exhausted, and desperate for shelter from the rain. And then…I remembered something."

"What did you recall?" inquired Shellfur.

"I remembered Flowerblossom mentioning StarClan, and when I cried out for them to help me, I found shelter. I was wondering, what's StarClan?"

"StarClan is where the cats of all Clans go to live when they die. They are our ancient ancestors, and we must respect them. They brought us here, in fact. We didn't always live here. Long ago, StarClan warned four cats that the twolegs would destroy our territory. Then the four cats, accompanied by another, set off to find new territory. When they finally came back, they led us to this area. By the way, medicine cats don't only heal, but they are also sent dreams from StarClan, and journey to Moonpool every half moon to listen to StarClan." Shellfur followed Raypaw's gaze. "You know, a long time ago, before we roamed the old territory, legend has it that huge cats ruled the forest. They were built into four Clans: TigerClan, LeopardClan, CheetahClan, and LionClan. TigerClan became ShadowClan, LeopardClan became RiverClan, CheetahClan became WindClan, and LionClan became ThunderClan. That's how the Clans got their special skills. Don't you understand, Raypaw? You're a lion! Part of an ancient Clan!" cried Shellfur.

"How do you know all this?" asked Raypaw, her mind buzzing with the new information.

"StarClan is real, but the ancient Clans are tales told by elders and queens," explained Shellfur. "I heard about them when I was a young apprentice, just like you. I believe in them, especially now that you're here."

"So ancient ancestors saved my life?" Raypaw questioned.

"Yes," answered Shellfur. She finished her last bite. "I think we ought to go back to our dens. After all, you'll be training hard tomorrow."

"Okay," mewed Raypaw.

Shellfur got to her paws and padded into the warriors' den. Then she curled up and fell back asleep, her tail once again carefully wrapped at her side.

…

Shellfur awoke to find herself in an unfamiliar forest shrouded in mist.

_Where am I? _She wondered.

At first she saw nothing, but then, when she stared into the mist long enough, she could make out the shapes of cats. She noticed some behind her, too. She began to get worried. Just then, the cats behind her stepped out of the mist. ThunderClan! Eaglestar was at the front of the group, a fierce expression on her face. The other cats surrounded them on all sides and started to creep forward, yowling and hissing.

Three more cats stepped out from the mist in front of her. She recognized them from the gathering, Amberstar, Pinestar, and Brackenstar.

_Wait a moment, _she thought. _Brackenstar? I thought he learned his lesson!_

But it looked like a fight was about to start, and she was in the middle of it!

"Eaglestar…?" It came out as a squeak.

"We are here for the lion," explained Pinestar. "You are outnumbered, Eaglestar. Surrender and hand her over."

"Never!" yowled Eaglestar. "Our Clan can defeat you all!"

"Don't fight, Eaglestar! They will destroy our Clan!" cried Shellfur.

Eaglestar didn't seem to notice her. "We will fight, and we will win!"

"If that's what you desire," meowed Pinestar. "Attack!"

Just like that all the cats leaped out from the mist and started to attack. Shellfur braced herself for a cat to jump at her, but it never happened. Instead, desperate to help her Clan, she lunged at a warrior, and went right through them!

Shellfur gasped and stood there, bewildered, as she watched her Clan fight, but it was hopeless. They were all battered and bleeding, and there were some cats on the ground, breathing their last few breaths as they began to leave their bodies. It was so horrible, so unreal, almost like…_a dream!_

_That's it! _She told herself. _It's a dream, nothing to worry about. Just a horrible nightmare. _

Sure enough, she suddenly started to float into the air, and drifted farther, and farther away. Just before they were out of sight, she saw a brown body covered in blood fall to the ground and join the motionless cats.

…

"Shellfur? Are you awake?" asked a voice.

Shellfur opened her eyes and saw Raypaw staring at her quizzically. She got up and stretched, and then followed Raypaw out of the warriors' den.

_Just a dream…_


	17. Hunting Practice

"Okay, come on, Raypaw," meowed Shellfur. "Let's go!"

She bounded off to the entrance with Raypaw at her side, and then entered the forest.

"Now, always stay alert," instructed Shellfur. "Keep your ears pricked, and nose ready."

Raypaw nodded.

"Never run in the forest if you're looking for prey," continued Shellfur. "Do you know why?"

"Um…because…I'll scare it away?"

"Exactly!" Shellfur exclaimed. "Now let's get started."

She led Raypaw deeper into the forest. Every once and while, she would stop and ask Raypaw what she could smell. Each time the apprentice could smell nothing prey-related. Finally, after some time, Raypaw picked up squirrel scent.

"Quiet," ordered Shellfur. She gazed around and soon found a scrawny squirrel at the base of a tree. It appeared to be searching the ground for nuts. She motioned with her tail towards it silently. "Can you see it?"

"Yeah," replied Raypaw, her eyes locked on the prey.

"Remember, crouch down low and move as silent as possible towards your target," whispered Shellfur. "Then get in the pouncing position, and pounce."

"How do I do the pounce position again?" asked Raypaw.

Shellfur quietly pressed herself down on the ground and displayed the position. "Copy me," she meowed.

Raypaw mimicked Shellfur and crouched down, but her haunches were sticking straight up. "How's this?"

Shellfur touched Raypaw's haunches with her tail, and pressed lightly.

Raypaw understood her and lowered her haunches.

"Perfect," Shellfur said and removed her tail. "Now try to sneak up on that squirrel. Remember, stay quiet."

Raypaw nodded and crept forward. When she was almost within pouncing distance, she stepped on a twig. A cracking noise was made, and the squirrel looked up, alarmed.

_Oh-no_, thought Shellfur. Suddenly Raypaw burst out of the grass and made a reckless dash towards the squirrel, but it was too late. The squirrel climbed the nearest tree until it was out of sight. Raypaw ran to the tree it had climbed and lingered at the base, roaring in frustration.

"Raypaw!" called Shellfur. "Calm down!" She caught up to Raypaw. "Calm down," she repeated slowly.

Raypaw roared one last time and then turned to face Shellfur. "I can't believe I let that furry-faced midget get away!" she growled.

"It's okay, Raypaw," soothed Shellfur. "It happens all the time. You'll learn to hunt soon."

"Yeah right, at this pace I'm going to eat all the Clan's prey and never actually catch any myself," she muttered.

"Listen, do you have any idea why you jumped out from cover like that?" Shellfur inquired.

"Just instinct, I guess," Raypaw answered, starting to calm down. "It didn't really matter though. The squirrel knew I was there."

"You still had a chance. You see, the squirrel did know you were there, but it didn't know exactly where. You could've taken that moment to pounce instead of chase."

"Whatever, it's too late now," mewed Raypaw.

"Future reference," Shellfur pointed out. "Try to remember that in case it happens again."

"Yeah, yeah," Raypaw muttered, sounding annoyed.

"Let's go see if there's anymore prey around here," said Shellfur. She led Raypaw through the forest again. This time, she felt as though she was being watched.

_Odd, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about_, she told herself. They kept going for a while, but the feeling never left her.

"I think we should head back now," declared Shellfur. "Maybe we'll find something on the way back." So they turned around and headed back to camp. When they were almost there, Raypaw stopped and sniffed the air.

"Mouse!" she cried and turned her head in the direction of the scent. Shellfur followed her gaze and spotted a brown mouse wandering around nearby.

"Go catch it," urged Shellfur. "You can do it this time."

Raypaw got back into the pouncing position and moved silently forward. She kept going, avoiding any objects that might make noise when stepped on. Finally she was within range. Shellfur watched proudly as she wiggled her haunches and pounced, but it was obviously quite clumsy. Raypaw landed right next to the mouse and immediately started to go after it just like with the squirrel. She continued to chase it until it ran under a bush. Annoyed, she clawed at the bush, making loud noises. The terrified mouse dashed out from the bush on the opposite side of Raypaw and scurried away. But the chase wasn't over. Raypaw kept chasing it, determined to catch it. The predator and prey disappeared from Shellfur's sight.

"No!" she cried and dashed after them. _What if she loses control and enters another Clan's territory? _She asked herself. _What if she hurts herself?_

She could still hear Raypaw chasing after the mouse. So she continued to dash after them, her worries growing stronger by the moment. "Raypaw!" she yelled. "It's not worth it, please give up the chase!"

Just then an astonished yowl sounded not far ahead. Shellfur ran faster, her limbs now aching. She came to a stop to see Raypaw with the mouse at her paws. Her clouded eyes were focused a few tail lengths away where a spoiled, rotten vole lay, covered in flies.

"Who did this?" demanded Shellfur.

"I don't know," replied Raypaw, still staring at the vole.

"Oh and by the way, I'm glad you caught that mouse," Shellfur added.

Raypaw beamed.

"Anyway, I can't believe someone would do this! We need all the prey we can get, why kill it and just leave it to rot? I mean seriously, why bother? Ugh! What a waste," Shellfur meowed angrily.

Raypaw shrugged. "Can we go back now? This thing is creeping me out."

"We can't just leave it here! It has to be removed," announced Shellfur.

"How do we do that?" asked Raypaw.

"Simple," answered Shellfur. "We bury it."

"Eww!" Raypaw spat.

"Can you think of any other ideas?"

"I guess not..."

"Well, let's do it, then."

So they dug a hole with their claws and nudged the vole into the hole. Then they kicked the dirt back in and headed to the stream to wash off.

As Shellfur dipped her paws in she once again got the feeling that she was being watched.

She ignored it and kept washing. When they were done, they padded back to camp.

**I know, it's short. :(**


	18. The Prophecy

**Yay! I planned out the rest of the story. Thanks for your help! Here's another chapter! **

When they entered the camp, Shellfur watched Raypaw place her mouse in the fresh-kill pile.

"Great job, now I'm going to take a quick cat nap," Shellfur declared.

"Already?" asked Raypaw.

"I got tired from chasing you," Shellfur admitted.

Raypaw giggled. "Uh-huh."

"When I'm done, I'll teach you some battle moves."

"Cool," mewed Raypaw. "I can't wait."

"Great, but you're going to have to," Shellfur informed her. She headed for the warriors' den.

"Very funny!" Raypaw called after her.

Shellfur entered her den. _She has really grown up, _she thought as she settled down. She remembered when Raypaw was just a kit. Unlike most kits, she hadn't been that small, being a lion and all, but she was defenseless. Now, although she was just an apprentice, she was very powerful. She had defeated many cats during the battle with WindClan, including the leader. She couldn't imagine what Raypaw would be like when she was a warrior.

Her eyelids started to droop, and a few moments later she fell asleep.

…

Shellfur awoke to find herself in the same, misty forest.

_Oh-no, what now? _she asked herself. She started walking around, exploring the supposedly empty forest. She bumped into a tree and hurt her head.

"Fox dung," she muttered and kept moving. She half expected all the Clans to appear again, but it never happened. Instead, the misty forest was so quiet. Too quiet. Suddenly, a low, hushed sound came from nearby. It appeared to come from all directions. As the sound continued, she realized what it was. It was the sound of whispering!

_Is it the other Clans?_ she wondered

The whispering started to get louder and louder, and then, of all a sudden, it stopped. A mysterious voice echoed from all around her. _The other Clans are getting jealous, Shellfur. The outsider must leave soon, or pelts will become soaked in blood, and the Clans will be wrapped in a never-ending rage for the power of one. _

"W-who are you and how do you know my name?" Shellfur asked the voice nervously.

A welcoming breeze blew into Shellfur's face. _Questions are not needed, young one. _The voice appeared to flow with the breeze, and was carried off into the distance.

"Wait!" cried Shellfur. She ran after the wind. "Please come back!"

As she ran, she was suddenly lifted into the air. She was brought higher and higher._ Remember…_

_ …_

Shellfur awoke and got up. She padded out of her den and into the clearing. _Was it a StarClan cat that spoke to me? _she wondered. _And what did they mean? We don't have any outsiders in our Clan. Or do we?_

"Shellfur! You're finally up!" Raypaw's voice cut through Shellfur's thoughts and brought her back to reality. 

"Yeah, now let's go train!" Shellfur bounded into the forest with Raypaw at her side. When they reached the training area, they stopped.

"Now I'll teach you some moves that will help you in battle," Shellfur announced. "Oh and when you're battle training, you must always sheathe you claws. Okay, I'm going to come at you, but don't move. Watch what I do carefully."

Shellfur dashed up to Raypaw and slid under her. As she went under her, she reached out with one paw, and, claws sheathed, she hit Raypaw's belly.

"When you do this move you must do it swiftly. If you're too slow, you're opponent could lower themselves down and crush you. Now you try it on me," ordered Shellfur.

Raypaw nodded and ran over to Shellfur. Then she slid under her and hit her belly just as Shellfur had done.

"Good. But now, I'm going to become resistant," Shellfur explained. "Go ahead."

Raypaw started to charge at Shellfur. Right before she could slide under, Shellfur jumped out of the way.

"Come on, you can do better than that," taunted Shellfur.

Eyes filled with determination, Raypaw tried again and slid under and hit her. She slid out just as Shellfur reacted and sat down.

"Much better!" Shellfur exclaimed. "Now here's another one."

They trained long and hard until it started to get dark. Then they headed back to camp.

"You're doing great, Raypaw!" Shellfur complemented as they padded through the dark forest.

"Thanks," replied Raypaw, beaming.

_Outsider…they couldn't have meant Raypaw. She belongs here now, _she thought. _She's fitting in. She knows how to fight, and she's learning how to hunt. But, who else could they have referred to? She's the only one who's…different. _

When they got back, Shellfur headed for the warriors' den.

"Hey Raypaw!" she called over her shoulder. "Are you hungry?"

"No, I ate while you were sleeping," Raypaw responded.

"Well, give some prey to the elders, okay?"

"Okay."

She entered her den and laid down. _I hope I don't get anymore weird dreams, _she thought. She closed one eye, and then the other. Before long, she was once again sound asleep.


	19. A Lioness Warrior and a Meeting

**Okay, now I'm going to do a time skip so I can get closer to the end of the story. (Why must it end?) I'll be skipping to three moons later when newleaf starts to arrive.**

**Time Skip**

Shellfur had just got back from hunting when she saw Eaglestar leap onto Highrock.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

She dropped her prey in the fresh kill pile and dashed over to join the Clan as they gathered beneath Highrock. She noticed that Raypaw was also on the Highrock, towering over Eaglestar.

"This apprentice has been training for some time now and is ready to become a warrior!" Eaglestar announced. "Now let's begin."

Shellfur couldn't believe it. This was the moment! Raypaw was about to become a warrior!

Eaglestar turned her gaze to Raypaw. "Raypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your Clan, even with your life?"

"I do," Raypaw replied formally.

"Well then, Raypaw, from this moment on you will be known as Rayshine. StarClan honors your courage and strength, and may these abilities aid our Clan in the darkest days."

"Rayshine! Rayshine! Rayshine!" cheered the crowd.

As Shellfur cheered, something in the corner of her mind tried to make its way out and replay itself to her, but she pushed it back without thinking.

"Meeting adjourned," Eaglestar declared. She jumped off Highrock and headed for the fresh kill pile. Rayshine leaped off after Eaglestar and padded to Shellfur.

"Thank you for training me," Rayshine bowed her head.

"It was nothing really," Shellfur replied, embarrassed. "I enjoyed it." She had to look up to see Rayshine. _She's so big! _Shellfur thought. She had been noticing that for a while now.

"I guess I'll be moving into the warriors' den," Rayshine continued.

"Uh, yeah." _Is there room?_

Well then, I'll go hunt for a bit." Rayshine padded away.

Shellfur let out a sigh of relief. She felt so awkward talking to her former apprentice now.

She padded into the warriors' den for a rest.

…

Meanwhile, three cats had gathered at the island.

"Now that we're all here, we can begin the meeting," a dark brown cat announced.

"Yes," muttered a golden tabby.

"We've been waiting long enough, and this must be taken care of quickly," a black and white cat meowed.

"Before it gets stronger," the brown cat added.

"It doesn't belong here, and it must leave," the black and white cat stated. "And that vole was just a warning."

"Moving on to business, we must discuss the plan," the brown cat said.

"Yeah, so you can capture it and have it all to yourself," the golden tabby murmured.

"What was that?" asked the black and white cat.

"Nothing," muttered the golden tabby.

"Speak up!"

"Nothing!" exclaimed the golden tabby.

"Moving on!" raged the brown cat. "How are we supposed to do this? Help me out here!"

"Excuse me," spat the black and white cat. "You may be a leader, but it doesn't mean you can control other leaders!"

"Oh great," the golden tabby muttered.

Annoyed, the black and white cat turned on the golden tabby. "Speak up, or shut up!" he roared.

The golden tabby simply shrugged.

"Why you, little-"

"Stop!" yowled the brown cat. "I need some ideas here!"

"Figure it out yourself," muttered the black and white cat.

"Maybe we can all charge in their camp at one time and overwhelm them," began the golden tabby.

"Go on," urged the brown cat.

"Then we can…perhaps…I don't know, maybe attack it all at once…?"

"So you mean have all of us pile up on it? No way! What about the other cats? And I'm sure it can simply push us off and kill us. What an idea," the black and white cat declared.

The golden tabby lowered his head. He didn't like being involved in this.

"How about we have one Clan come in and attack all the other warriors, then we can send in another whole Clan to attack and overwhelm it," suggested the brown cat. "The last Clan can act as backup."

"Eh, maybe," said the black and white cat.

"That might work," said the golden tabby, trying to sound hopeful.

"Might," repeated the black and white cat. "But we still need to figure out which Clan does which."

"Well then I say that the first Clan should be RiverClan, we'll do the dirty work, and WindClan can be backup," the brown cat replied.

"Hate it," announced the black and white cat. "I'd like an important role for my Clan."

"Well, somebody has to do it," the brown cat pointed out.

"Whatever, whatever, we'll do it," said the black and white cat.

"So we're doing it?" the golden tabby questioned.

"Yeah, duh," the black and white cat answered.

"All right, we'll do it tomorrow night then?" asked the brown cat.

"Sure," said the black and white cat.

"Okay, we'll capture that lion tomorrow, and nothing can stop us!"


	20. The Final Battle

A paw nudged Shellfur's side and woke her.

"What…?" She looked up to see Dewmist staring at her.

"Dawn patrol," Dewmist explained. "Get up."

"Okay." Shellfur stood up, stretched, and then waited as Dewmist woke up Blackfox and Puddlesplash. Petalpaw, Puddlesplash's apprentice and one of Flowerblosom's kits, was already waiting outside.

"Let's go!" Petalpaw exclaimed excitedly.

"We're coming," Puddlesplash muttered, slightly groggy.

They headed out into the forest.

"We will check on the RiverClan border," Dewmist announced.

So they padded down to the border between RiverClan and ThunderClan.

…

Rayshine finally left her post from standing vigil overnight and padded to the fresh kill pile. She picked out two mice and gobbled them down quickly. She started to head to the warriors' den for some rest when the dawn patrol burst into camp.

"Quick! RiverClan is coming!" cried Blackfox.

Eaglestar ran out from her den. "Where are they?" she asked.

"W-we saw them advancing to the camp and we ran to warn the Clan," Blackfox explained. "They'll be here any moment now."

"More trouble," muttered Eaglestar. "Quick, get the kits in nursery. Tigerlily and Stripetail, guard the entrance."

Just then, a battle cry sounded. "RiverClan, attack!"

Tigerlily and Stripetail herded the kits into the nursery and stood in front of it as cats rushed out from the Clan entrance and lunged for ThunderClan cats.

Rayshine roared and charged at an enemy warrior and then stopped when she heard another battle cry.

"ShadowClan, attack!"

More cats streamed out and make a dash for Rayshine. She turned around and barreled through them, cats flying in all directions. A gray warrior ran over to her and scratched her side. Rayshine retailed by whacking him in the face with her forepaw. The gray cat was knocked out cold and fell backwards. Two more cats raked her flank and then another bit her tail. Before she could react, a cat jumped straight onto her face. Big mistake. She reached up and raked the cat down the spine, causing them to fall off. Another ShadowClan warrior slid under her and sliced her belly. As Rayshine brought down a huge paw on the warrior who wounded her belly, a cat scratched one of her back legs. Then a rather large warrior smacked into her other leg. Finally, another large tom dashed towards her, and then leaped off the ground and hit her side. Rayshine wobbled slightly, and then lost her balance and fell.

Suddenly she was covered in clawing, hissing ShadowClan cats. She endured the pain, and then yowled as a warrior raked her belly in the same spot the other warrior had. Then Pinestar came and reared back, her claws shining in the sun.

…

Shellfur was being attacked by a RiverClan cat, and she was losing.

_It's hopeless, _she thought as she flung herself at the warrior, only to bite the dust. _We can't win. _

She took a quick glance around and saw Eaglestar fighting Amberstar. She watched as Eaglestar took a deadly blow to the face and fell down in a pool of her own blood. Amberstar stood over her, grinning menacingly.

"Eaglestar, no!" Shellfur cried. Suddenly she was knocked over by her opponent. They got on top of her, but she kicked them off and dashed over to assist her leader. Another cat came flying out of nowhere and raked her side. Just then, Brackenstar appeared at the camp entrance with his WindClan warriors behind him.

"Halt!" he ordered and the battle froze. He padded over to Eaglestar and whispered something in her ear. Eaglestar managed to reply weakly.

"It is clear that this battle is over," Brackenstar stated. "ThunderClan, your leader has agreed to hand over the lion."

Shellfur gasped and glanced back at her leader. Blood was pouring out quickly, and she was very pale. She decided to speak up. "Eaglestar is dying! Can't you see?"

Brackenstar laughed. "My dear, Eaglestar still has plenty of lives. She'll be fine."

"She's still dying!" she cried.

"I know, I know. Isn't that a little obvious?" Brackenstar laughed again, and then became serious once more. "Now hand the lion over."

Shellfur dashed over to Eaglestar.

"Eaglestar!" she moaned. "Don't die."

Eaglestar turned to stare at her. "I must. But, this is goodbye."

"You mean…this is your last life?"

"Yes."

"No!"

"I'm afraid so."

"Eaglestar, I'm sorry I doubted you."

"I understand."

"Enough of this!" hissed Brackenstar. "Now give us what we came for."

"I can hand myself over." Rayshine slowly got back on her feet shakily and headed over to Brackenstar, blood dripping from her pelt.

Suddenly a light shot down from the sky between Rayshine and Brackenstar. A majestic white cat appeared in the light and padded over to Rayshine. With every paw step, a white light flashed under the pad and lit up the ground.

Rayshine froze in her tracks and gaped as the white cat approached her. Finally, the cat stopped in front of her, turned around to face everyone else, and sat down.

"I am Whitestar, a former leader of ThunderClan." Her voice echoed across the clearing. "And I have come to announce to you all that there will be no more fights over this lioness. She must leave this forest and never come back."

Shellfur suddenly remembered the prophecy she had been given a few moons ago. She had never told anyone, and now this is what happened. _I was so stupid, _she scolded herself. Just then, realization clicked. _First Eaglestar starts die, now Rayshine has to leave. _

"Whitestar, does she really have to go?" asked Shellfur. But she already knew the answer.

"Yes, and you've known that for quite some time now," Whitestar informed her.

Shellfur looked down at her paws.

"When she gets bigger, she will not be able to hunt anymore the way you do, and she won't be able to live on small prey animals. She must return to where she belongs. Do not worry, StarClan will guide her home."

"How can I leave when I am injured?" Rayshine questioned.

Whitestar turned around and put a paw on her. White light flew through her body and created a mystical glow. When it faded away, Rayshine was healed.

"You must get going now," Whitestar told her.

"I must say goodbye first!" Shellfur cried and dashed over to Rayshine.

"I love you so much. It's going to be hard getting along without you," Shellfur meowed.

"I'll miss you too, Shellfur," Rayshine said. "Thanks for everything. I hope you will remember me."

"I promise to StarClan I will," Shellfur promised. "I'll never forget you."

Rayshine nodded swiftly. "Good." She headed out into the forest, leaving Shellfur feeling alone and heartbroken.

"Why?" Shellfur wailed. She looked around and realized that Whitestar had left.

"Wow," Thornheart breathed. "Wow."

"Well, sorry about that," Brackenstar said. Then the other Clans left the camp.

That night, after Shellfur had paid her respects to Eaglestar's body, she sat down and stared out into the dark forest.

_I hope Rayshine makes it home safely._


	21. Epilogue

Rayshine padded away from the camp without looking back. Dead leaves crippled under her large paws as she went by. Her tail dragged in the dirt.

_It's the only home I remember, why must I leave it? _She wondered. _Why can't I stay? _But she had to put the past behind her now and move on to a different life.

As she padded by the lake, she saw her reflection quivering in the water. _I'm different than the others._

She remembered the night when Shellfur had explained to her about the ancient Clans. _So I'm from LionClan…and they descended from my race. _

When she left the forest the moon was high in the sky. Finally she glanced back, and saw the dark forest beckoning for her to come back. She resisted it and kept moving. She was now in Twolegplace. Tired, she found refuge in an abandoned nest. At least it provided shelter, although the stench of Twolegs was strong.

For the next few days she traveled through Twolegplace and did her best to remain unseen. At one point a giant, noisy monster was chasing her until she turned a corner and disappeared behind a nest. She crept out from behind it and kept moving.

_I hate this life, _Rayshine thought as she slept in a bush behind a Twoleg fence. _It stinks, it hurts, and it's uncomfortable. _

Many moons later the Twolegplace finally ended. All around her was a wide, grassy field surrounded by a forest. The grass was surprisingly high, and it provided good camouflage for hunting. She immediately dashed for the forest and found that it was very different. It wasn't as dense as the Clans' forest and there were many more clearings. As she explored she suddenly heard a soft sound, almost like paw hitting the ground, but it was louder and it sounded almost hollow. She pricked her ears and lifted her nose to the air. She smelled a strange scent she had never smelled before, yet the scent naturally energized her body. She gazed around and spotted a brown animal with a white tail not far away, grazing. It was standing on four legs and was rather big compared to the animals she was used to.

Suddenly, without thinking, she was dashing towards the animal. As soon as it saw her it started to run, and it was pretty fast, too. They ran by trees and bushes and jumped over fallen trees. Just then the animal's foot got tangled in a root, and it fell to the ground. She caught up to it and delivered the killing bite to the neck, and then stared at it.

_This is a lot of meat, _she thought. _Much more than the prey back at the old forest. _She felt proud of herself for catching such a large and fast prey animal. She started to feast on it, enjoying every bite.

Later that day Rayshine decided she would live here. So she looked around for a good camp. She searched until she found a small clearing mostly surrounded by brambles. There was a giant wall of giant rocks on one side, and when she inspected them closely, she discovered that there was a small, but decent cave there. She made a large mossy bed there and it became her home.

That night, as she laid down, she thought about the Clans again.

_Back then I didn't think I'd make it, but now I have. I still miss Shellfur, though. She was a good friend, and I hope she has a fun life in the Clans without me. But most of all, I wish we'll never forget each other. _

**So that's it. I hope you enjoyed reading this! :D **


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